Special Air Service
"Who Dares Wins" - The Motto of the Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces group of the UNSC Army, having been originally formed as a part of the British Army during the Second World War, before being merged into the UEG controlled UNSC in 2163 following the Mars campaign. Due to the historical value of the units name, the UNSC has maintained their title, despite the purpose of the unit having diverged over the centuries. History Further information: History of the Special Air Service and List of SAS operations. Jovian Moons Campaign Rainforest Wars Incorporation into the UNSC & Interplanetary War The Insurrection (2494-) Human-Covenant War Organization The corps base of operations is its historic base at Stirling Lines, Hereford, in the United Kingdom, named after the unit's founder, David Stirling, with each regiment having its own separate garrison across human space, however during the later stages of the human-covenant war, many of the regiments would be garrisoned on Earth, following the loss of the planet Reach in 2552. The SAS are organised into 8 separate 'Regiments' operating across human space, each of which is composed of multiple independent 'Squadrons' which are distributed across the regiment's area of operations, with each unit consisting of 4 Squadrons of around 65 men under the command of a Major, which are divided up into 4 'Troops' of 16 operators under the command of a Captain. The names of SAS Regiments are primarily drawn from historical regiments to have born the title of the SAS in its history, these include. * 1st SAS * 2nd SAS * 3rd SAS * 4th SAS * 5th SAS * 21st SAS * 22nd SAS * 23rd SAS Equipment Like the rest of the UNSC Army, the SAS utilised the MA37 Individual Combat Weapon System as its primary assault rifle during the until 2556, when they would change to the MA5D assault rifle, prior to it being made the UNSC's standard-issue assault rifle. The SAS would also use the M392 Designated Marksman Rifle and BR55 battle rifle for medium-range suppression, with the allocation of these weapons depending on the preference of the welder. However, by 2558, both weapons would have been replaced in primary service by the M395 Designated Marksman Rifle and the BR85 battle rifle respectively, with some older weapons being retained due to the request of veteran personnel. For sidearms, the SAS would operate several variants of the M6 series, including the M6C and M6C/SOCOM, the M6D, the M6G, the M6H and the M6J/C, depending on operation requirements, mission parameters and user preference. SAS operators would also use the standard SRS99-AM sniper rifle for long-range suppression and anti-matériel operations. The M319 grenade launcher for medium-range suppression and anti-fortification duties, along with the Army standard M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Grenade. For anti-armour fire is the M41 SPNKR rocket launcher is the standard weapon of choice, although by October 2558, with rest of the UNSC phasing out the M41 in favour of the cheaper, lighter M57 Pilum, there have been discussions of extending this to the SAS regiments aswell. Unlike many UNSC Army units, the SAS does not utilise the standard Army BDU, instead, operating a variant of the standard ODST BDU, due to its tactical flexibility being well suited for the variety of operations undertaken by SAS operators. This has however led to the press and civilians mistaking SAS Operators for UNSC Navy ODST's, but due to the SAS's covert nature and preference to remain out of the limelight, this is seen as a blessing, rather than as a curse. The only way of identifying an SAS soldier from an ODST, is the choice of combat knife, as SAS soldiers use the M8 Commando Knife. A modern version based on the legendary Fairburn-Sykes fighting knife, often calling it the 'F-S, or Fis' as a result. Battle honours * North-West Europe (1944–45) * Tobruk (1941) * North Africa (1940-43) * Sicily (1943) * Italy (1943-1945) * Dodecanese campaign (1943) * Greece (1944-1945) * Middle East (1943-1944) * Falkland War (1982) * Gulf War (1991) * (Wars throughout the 21st century) * Jovian Moons Campaign (2160) * Rainforest Wars (2162) * Mars Campaign (2163) * Interplanetary War (2164-2170) * Inner Colony Wars (2333-2338) * Insurrection (2494-) * Human-Covenant War (2525-2553) * Post-Covenant War conflicts (2553-) Trivia * Despite being called 'Regiments' they are actually battalion-sized units, this also applies to the Squadrons as they are closer to platoon-sized units, and to the Troops, which are in fact fireteams. The reason they use the titles of larger formations is down to British intelligence's efforts to deceive German intelligence during WW2, by misleading them to believe that there was a larger contingent of these elite soldiers than there actually were. Category:UNSC Units